The severe wind outbreak of November 15, 2020
482 wind reportsPennsylvania, Ohio, New York and 13 more states
482 damaging wind reports across 16 states between 12:10 AM and 10:24 PM CST, 5 of them 65 knots (75 mph) or stronger; the strongest measured gust was 76 mph in Medina County, OH. 1 hail report and 1 tornado the same day.
Watch the day unfoldSevere wind day · November 15, 2020
How the day unfolded
Every damaging wind report of the day at its logged time, with the day's hail reports and tornadoes, and the counties they reached.
The day in numbers
- Wind reports
- 482
- 40th of 15,807 days with wind reports since 1955
- 75 mph or more
- 5
- 1 of 86 mph (75 knots) or more
- Strongest measured gust
- 76 mph
- 66 knots, Medina County, OH
- Measured
- 58
- reports with an instrument reading; the rest are estimates from damage
- Killed by wind
- 2
- 2 injured
- Counties reporting
- 177
- in 16 states
Hour by hour
Damaging wind reports in each hour, Central Standard Time.
The strongest winds
The 100 strongest reports with a speed. Measured gusts come from an instrument; estimated speeds are judged from damage.
| 8:12 PM | Litchfield County CT | 90 mph | Estimated |
| 8:04 PM | Litchfield County CT | 85 mph | Estimated |
| 8:16 PM | Litchfield County CT | 85 mph | Estimated |
| 5:48 PM | Berks County PA | 81 mph | Estimated |
| 11:54 AM | Medina County OH | 76 mph | Measured |
| 12:38 PM | Geauga County OH | 72 mph | Measured |
| 11:50 AM | Cuyahoga County OH | 71 mph | Measured |
| 3:27 AM | Calloway County KY | 70 mph | Estimated |
| 11:36 AM | Lorain County OH | 70 mph | Estimated |
| 7:25 PM | Rockland County NY | 70 mph | Estimated |
| 7:35 PM | New York County NY | 70 mph | Estimated |
| 7:35 PM | Rockland County NY | 70 mph | Estimated |
| 8:35 PM | Suffolk County NY | 70 mph | Estimated |
| 3:30 PM | Mineral County WV | 69 mph | Measured |
| 10:02 AM | Wood County OH | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 10:08 AM | Wood County OH | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 10:09 AM | Lucas County OH | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 10:40 AM | Ottawa County OH | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 11:24 AM | Lorain County OH | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 11:27 AM | Ashland County OH | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 11:27 AM | Lorain County OH | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 11:46 AM | Cuyahoga County OH | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 11:46 AM | Cuyahoga County OH | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 11:50 AM | Cuyahoga County OH | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 11:58 AM | Cuyahoga County OH | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 12:01 PM | Cuyahoga County OH | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 12:08 PM | Cuyahoga County OH | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 12:17 PM | Summit County OH | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 12:18 PM | Lake County OH | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 12:22 PM | Summit County OH | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 12:22 PM | Geauga County OH | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 12:22 PM | Summit County OH | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 12:25 PM | Geauga County OH | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 12:25 PM | Geauga County OH | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 12:26 PM | Geauga County OH | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 12:26 PM | Geauga County OH | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 12:26 PM | Geauga County OH | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 12:29 PM | Geauga County OH | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 12:35 PM | Geauga County OH | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 12:38 PM | Portage County OH | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 12:42 PM | Portage County OH | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 1:00 PM | Ashtabula County OH | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 1:00 PM | Trumbull County OH | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 1:12 PM | Trumbull County OH | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 1:41 PM | Erie County PA | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 1:52 PM | Erie County PA | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 3:08 PM | Garrett County MD | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 6:41 PM | Montgomery County PA | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 6:58 PM | Orange County NY | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 7:28 PM | Bergen County NJ | 69 mph | Estimated |
| 3:14 PM | Garrett County MD | 68 mph | Measured |
| 7:30 PM | Hudson County NJ | 68 mph | Measured |
| 9:38 PM | Washington County RI | 68 mph | Measured |
| 10:05 AM | Logan County OH | 66 mph | Measured |
| 5:55 PM | Howard County MD | 66 mph | Measured |
| 2:50 PM | Cattaraugus County NY | 64 mph | Measured |
| 3:10 PM | Garrett County MD | 64 mph | Measured |
| 8:14 PM | Ocean County NJ | 64 mph | Measured |
| 8:30 PM | Cape May County NJ | 64 mph | Measured |
| 8:44 PM | Hampden County MA | 64 mph | Measured |
| 9:40 PM | Middlesex County MA | 64 mph | Measured |
| 12:07 PM | Cuyahoga County OH | 64 mph | Estimated |
| 11:59 AM | Cuyahoga County OH | 63 mph | Measured |
| 12:27 PM | Summit County OH | 63 mph | Measured |
| 2:44 PM | Erie County NY | 63 mph | Measured |
| 4:10 PM | Ontario County NY | 63 mph | Measured |
| 6:29 PM | Harford County MD | 63 mph | Measured |
| 8:09 PM | Ocean County NJ | 63 mph | Measured |
| 10:18 AM | Ottawa County OH | 63 mph | Estimated |
| 10:18 AM | Ottawa County OH | 63 mph | Estimated |
| 10:21 AM | Ottawa County OH | 63 mph | Estimated |
| 10:39 AM | Wyandot County OH | 63 mph | Estimated |
| 10:52 AM | Seneca County OH | 63 mph | Estimated |
| 12:04 PM | Cuyahoga County OH | 63 mph | Estimated |
| 12:46 PM | Ashtabula County OH | 63 mph | Estimated |
| 3:12 PM | Garrett County MD | 63 mph | Estimated |
| 4:00 PM | Berkeley County WV | 63 mph | Estimated |
| 4:00 PM | Allegany County MD | 63 mph | Estimated |
| 4:20 PM | Washington County MD | 63 mph | Estimated |
| 4:36 PM | Jefferson County WV | 63 mph | Estimated |
| 4:45 PM | Frederick County MD | 63 mph | Estimated |
| 4:45 PM | Frederick County MD | 63 mph | Estimated |
| 5:59 PM | Monroe County PA | 63 mph | Estimated |
| 6:00 PM | Howard County MD | 63 mph | Estimated |
| 6:07 PM | Baltimore MD | 63 mph | Estimated |
| 6:09 PM | Baltimore MD | 63 mph | Estimated |
| 6:12 PM | Northampton County PA | 63 mph | Estimated |
| 6:26 PM | Hunterdon County NJ | 63 mph | Estimated |
| 6:26 PM | Warren County NJ | 63 mph | Estimated |
| 6:50 PM | Sussex County NJ | 63 mph | Estimated |
| 6:55 PM | Hunterdon County NJ | 63 mph | Estimated |
| 6:58 PM | Somerset County NJ | 63 mph | Estimated |
| 7:00 PM | Montgomery County PA | 63 mph | Estimated |
| 7:08 PM | Morris County NJ | 63 mph | Estimated |
| 7:14 PM | Morris County NJ | 63 mph | Estimated |
| 8:06 PM | Ocean County NJ | 63 mph | Estimated |
| 10:24 PM | Washington County RI | 63 mph | Estimated |
| 11:48 AM | Medina County OH | 62 mph | Measured |
| 5:33 PM | Berks County PA | 62 mph | Measured |
| 7:00 PM | Sussex County NJ | 62 mph | Measured |
By state
| Pennsylvania | 121 | 62 mph |
| Ohio | 109 | 76 mph |
| New York | 65 | 64 mph |
| New Jersey | 52 | 68 mph |
| Maryland | 48 | 68 mph |
| Connecticut | 31 | 61 mph |
| Massachusetts | 18 | 64 mph |
| West Virginia | 13 | 69 mph |
| Rhode Island | 6 | 68 mph |
| Virginia | 6 | — |
| Arkansas | 5 | — |
| Alabama | 2 | — |
| Delaware | 2 | — |
| Kentucky | 2 | — |
| Indiana | 1 | — |
| Tennessee | 1 | — |
Counties with the most wind reports
- Berks CountyPA · 17 reports
- Litchfield CountyCT · 15 reports
- Ocean CountyNJ · 13 reports
- Cuyahoga CountyOH · 10 reports
- Howard CountyMD · 10 reports
- Chester CountyPA · 10 reports
- Erie CountyNY · 9 reports
- Geauga CountyOH · 9 reports
- Montgomery CountyPA · 8 reports
- Lehigh CountyPA · 8 reports
Hail and tornadoes that day
1 hail report, 0 of 2 inches or more; 1 tornado.
| 12:20 PM | Lake County OH | 0.88 |
- EF1 tornado1:15 AM CST
2020 · On this date in other years · The biggest severe wind days
- A report is a single damage or measurement report to the National Weather Service. Several reports can describe one gust front, so reports are not storms.
- Reporting has grown with population, spotter networks and the internet, so counts from different decades are not directly comparable.
- Thunderstorm wind reports start at 50 knots (58 mph). SPC began flagging measured against estimated speeds in 2006; earlier reports are shown as estimated.
Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1955 to 2025. A day is SPC’s calendar date in Central Standard Time; a severe wind day here has 300 or more damaging wind reports, or 15 or more of 75 knots (86 mph) or more.